Sec. 20. Miscellaneous Provisions
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Title VII of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( 22 U.S.C. 6481 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following new sections: Congress recognizes the enduring importance of United States institutions of higher education worldwide both for their potential for shaping positive leadership and new educational models in host countries and for their emphasis on teaching universally recognized rights of free inquiry and academic freedom. It is the sense of Congress that United States institutions of higher education operating campuses outside the United States or establishing any educational entities with foreign governments, particularly with or in countries the governments of which engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom as identified in the Annual Report and the annual report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, should adopt a code of conduct— upholding the right of freedom of religion of their employees and students, including the right to manifest that religion peacefully as protected in international law; ensuring that the religious views and peaceful practice of belief in no way affect, or be allowed to affect, the status of a worker’s or faculty member’s employment or a student’s enrollment; and affirming that all negotiations, contracts, or memoranda of understanding engaged in or constructed with a foreign government to establish any educational entity, shall be open, transparent, and made available for public inspection before conclusion and that any such agreement shall affirm, at all times, academic freedom and universal rights to the freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, and association.
It is the sense of Congress that— the annual national security strategy report of the President required by section 108 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3043 ) should promote international religious freedom as a foreign policy and national security priority and should articulate that promotion of the right to freedom of religion or belief is a strategy that protects other, related human rights, and advances democracy outside the United States, and make clear its importance to United States foreign policy goals of stability, security, development, and diplomacy; the national security strategy report should be a guide for the strategies and activities of relevant Federal agencies and inform the Department of Defense quadrennial defense review under section 118 of title 10, United States Code, and the Department of State Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review; and in order to support the development of a national security strategy that emphasizes the challenges of integrating religious freedom into United States foreign policy at all levels, the President should consider— adopting a whole-of-government approach to promote international religious freedom by creating senior policy positions and committees at the National Security Council, chaired by the Senior Directors of the National Security Council and the Ambassador at Large, and implemented through specific policy directives that guide the actions of other Federal agencies; and requesting a national intelligence estimate on international religious freedom by the National Intelligence Council or any other intelligence agency as appropriate, which that analyzes conditions and trends of international religious freedom and identifies potential national security risks related to the absence of religious freedom, including threats to stability from authoritarian governments, terrorism, violent religious extremism, sectarian violence, and laws that restrict religious freedom.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2014 , the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on whether religious freedom conditions are such that the countries of Nigeria, Pakistan, and Vietnam meet the criteria for designation as countries of particular concern for religious freedom under section 402(b). The Comptroller General shall consult with the appropriate executive branch officials, appropriate congressional committees, and governmental and nongovernmental organizations for the purposes of preparing the report required by subsection (a).
The report required by subsection
(a)shall include the following: A multiyear comparison of country reports on Nigeria, Pakistan, and Vietnam in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the Annual Reports described in section 102(b), and the annual reports of the Commission. A comparison of reports and publications on religious freedom conditions in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Vietnam issued by foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations, and academic entities, to the findings of the reports issued by the United States. Discussions with current and former United States officials, including Members of Congress, Commissioners, and staff of the Commission, about religious freedom conditions in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Vietnam, the requirements of this Act, and United States national interests in such countries. Discussions with current and former United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Religion and Belief and their staffs, about religious freedom conditions in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Discussions with academic and other experts, including representatives of religions and ethnic minority groups, about religious freedom conditions in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Vietnam, the effect of United States advocacy for religious freedom in such countries, and United States national interests in such countries. .
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